The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was, until stood down in 1991, a part of the UK Ministry of Defence. It was formed in 1925 as the Observer Corps, and on April 9, 1941 King George VI approving the new name Royal Observer Corps in recognition of its invaluable World War II service. 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ministry of Defence building, Whitehall, Westminster, London The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and the headquarters of the UK military. ... 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George) (December 14, 1895 - February 6, 1952) was the third British monarch of the House of Windsor, reigning from December 11, 1936 to February 6, 1952. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was by far the bloodiest, most expensive, and most significant war in...

Until 1957 the function of the mainly-voluntary corps was to identify and report the location of aircraft. Volunteers at posts all over the United Kingdom were linked via control centres to the Royal Air Force who could direct fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery against enemy aircraft, as in the Battle of Britain. 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the UK Armed Forces. ... A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... A major campaign of World War II, the Battle of Britain is the name for the attempt by Germanys Luftwaffe to gain air superiority of British airspace and destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF). ...

From 1957 the ROC took on a new Cold War function, locating a possible nuclear attack by reporting nuclear explosions and monitoring nuclear fallout. The corps' volunteers operated from 1,563 underground monitoring posts built all over the Britain. For this role the ROC operated as part of the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO). 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the generic term for a high-tension rivalry between countries, see cold war (war). ... Nuclear war, or atomic war, is war in which nuclear weapons are used. ... A 23 kiloton tower shot called BADGER, fired on April 18, 1953 at the Nevada Test Site, as part of the Operation Upshot-Knothole nuclear test. ... Fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion and is named from the fact that it falls out of the atmosphere in to which it is spread during the explosion. ...

External links

• The Royal Observer Corps: 1925-1992
• Chronological history of the Royal Observer Corps
• The Royal Observer Corps seabourne ops - D-day
• The underground ROC post
• The Royal Observer Corps post database
• The UK Cold War Nuclear Attack Warning System
• An archive of UK civil defence material
• A project documenting the history of the ROC in Scotland